Machines are used to perform various operations in different industries, such as construction, mining, transportation, and the like. Such machines may include an engine and one or more cooling components for cooling fluids and other aspects of the machine.
Operation of the machines, and the resulting generation of heat, causes temperature differences along and within the cooling components. The temperature differences along and within the cooling components cause thermal stress on the components. Over time, damage to the cooling components as a result of the thermal stress will accumulate and ultimately may result in a failure of the cooling components. Such failure may result in significant and unexpected machine downtime.
The useful life of a component subjected to stresses caused by pressure or acceleration may often track or correspond to the pressure or acceleration, respectively, to which the component is subjected. However, the useful life of a component subjected to thermal stresses is less likely to track or correspond to the temperature to which the component is exposed. In addition, determining the temperature along or within a component is often substantially more difficult than determining the pressure or acceleration to which the component is subjected.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,116,990 discloses a prognostics system for use with a turbine engine that continuously monitors the engine operating parameters and engine operating environment. The system further performs usage and operating environment based crack nucleation, crack propagation, distortion, corrosion or erosion analysis for life consumption and residual life prediction of multiple structural components of the turbine engine. Still further, the system predicts intrinsic and extrinsic states of damage in the structural components before the development of discernible faults or damage using standard data acquired from engine monitoring interfaces.
The foregoing background discussion is intended solely to aid the reader. It is not intended to limit the innovations described herein, nor to limit or expand the prior art discussed. Thus, the foregoing discussion should not be taken to indicate that any particular element of a prior system is unsuitable for use with the innovations described herein, nor is it intended to indicate that any element is essential in implementing the innovations described herein. The implementations and application of the innovations described herein are defined by the appended claims.